Hi! I’m Chef Connie

Texas Gold Creator

My Story

Chef Connie Mullins is a Texas-born professional chef, pastry chef, and chocolatier whose love of baking began in her mother’s kitchen. Those early family recipes—and the memories behind them—continue to inspire her cooking today. A graduate of the Food & Hospitality Institute at El Centro College in Dallas, Connie went on to build a career spanning pastry, chocolate, private dining, catering, and her popular Chef Connie Bakes pop-ups. Her work has earned numerous awards and recognition, and she was inducted into the El Centro College Food & Hospitality Institute Hall of Fame. In 2013, she also appeared on Food Network’s Sweet Genius holiday competition. Connie is known for taking classic Texas and Southern flavors and elevating them with professional pastry technique and exceptional ingredients. Her award-winning German Chocolate Cake, Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake, Banana Nut Bread, and Texas Red Chili are among the recipes that have become part of her culinary story. At the heart of Chef Connie Bakes is Texas Gold, Connie’s signature chocolate confection. Created in 2010, Texas Gold combines tempered Valrhona dark chocolate with pieces of her mother’s homemade peanut brittle and a finishing touch of flaky sea salt. What began as a delicious way to use pieces of her mother’s brittle became one of Connie’s most requested creations. For Connie, food has always been about more than what is on the plate. It is about family, memories, tradition, and the joy of making something by hand and sharing it with someone else. Today, Chef Connie continues to cook, bake, and create in Dallas, Texas (her hometown) while carrying forward the recipes and stories that helped make her the chef she is today—made in Texas. Made from scratch, with a story.

Honors & Recognition

  • Food Network’s Sweet Genius (2012): Selected as one of America’s premier pastry chefs and featured on the Holiday episode
  • El Centro College Food & Hospitality Hall of Fame: Inducted 2015
  • Lead Tasting Judge, Texas ProStart High School Program
  • Numerous honors and awards in culinary and bakery-pastry competitions

Giving Back

Chef Connie is proud to support her community through the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Elizabeth Home, Toys for Tots, and Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Beyond the Kitchen

A believer in balance, Chef Connie champions a healthy lifestyle. She teaches aqua aerobics, rides mountain bike trails, and spends as much time as she can in the great outdoors with family and friends.